When The Fog Lifts
by teddikayg
Summary: Hameron fic. My first one so please read & review. All suggestions & comments welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Allison Cameron yawned as she unlocked the door to the Diagnostic's office. The only good thing about getting here this early was the prospect of a couple hours of alone time to really get caught up on House's paperwork. She turned on her computer and stood there for a moment looking at the stacks of charts and unopened mail sitting on the desk.

"He needs a damn secretary!" she muttered aloud. Her thoughts silently answered her, _"Yeah – like THAT is going to happen again any time soon."_ A small smile broke across Cameron's face as she recalled House's last Administrative Assistant. The poor woman had only lasted four hours before throwing her hands up in exasperation and walking out. Cuddy swore to never send anyone to work for House after that debacle.

Shaking her head and sighing, Cameron walked to the counter to start the coffee. As the coffee maker began its usual gurgle, she removed the glass carafe, replacing it instead with her cup. She turned on the water in the sink to rinse out the carafe and noticed House's red mug sitting in the sink, still stained from yesterday's brew. Rolling her eyes, she couldn't help but think, "Am I his housemaid now, too??" _Not that I wouldn't mind_, she grinned. Standing there washing his mug, she became lost in her thoughts. _Why is it that I can tell everyone I am over him - everyone, that is, but me. With all the bull he puts out, why can't my heart just close to him? _ Even though it had been the better part of a month since she had kissed him, she could still remember the taste of his lips on hers. She could still feel the roughness of his beard on her skin and how his hands felt on her...

"Hey! You're wasting perfectly good coffee there!"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, dropping his mug into the sink. The crack she heard as the ceramic met the stainless steel resonated over the sound of the coffee sizzling on the hot plate as it ran over the top of her mug. Grabbing the carafe and replacing it on the coffee maker, she looked down into the sink to see the handle had broken off his red cup.

"Tell me that was not MY cup? Jeez Cameron! Where were you? Re-living a hot date or something?"

"Uh, uh, no. You know what it is like before that first cup of coffee," she stammered, hoping that her face was not as red as his mug – his now broken mug. "Sorry about your mug, House. Here" she handed him her cup "Take mine until I can get you a new one."

"Uh – no, don't think so – teddy bears and butterflies are not my thing." He reached past her, grabbing the handle-less mug out of the sink. He looked it over, shrugged and filled it with coffee. "What are you doing here so early, anyway?" he snarked.

"I wanted to get caught up on YOUR paperwork." She grabbed a handful of paper towels and began to clean up the spilled coffee. "But I could ask the same thing of you. You're never here this early." _Which is why I was here_, she thought.

"Cuddy called me – we've got a new case coming in this morning. She's being airlifted over from Trenton General once the fog lifts." He tossed 3 copies of the file on the conference table, carrying his with him as he limped into his office. _And once she woke me up, my leg was hurting too damn much to go back to sleep_.

"Did you call Chase and Foreman yet?" she yelled from the conference room.

"No – not yet." _Because I wanted some time to myself! Damn her for being so…so…, __Cameron__ and coming in early._ This was just the kind of situation he had been trying to avoid for the past month. They hadn't been alone together since that kiss. _That kiss! What was she thinking? And what the hell was I thinking kissing her back? She was thinking you were on death's door, that's what she was thinking._ He thought back to when she, and all of them, had found out that he had not had brain cancer. The look on her face was burned into his retinas and was there whenever he closed his eyes. They had all looked so angry, but she looked so betrayed. He hadn't started out to hurt her, or anyone for that matter. He had just been looking for some way to relieve the pain.

Cameron took her coffee back to her desk. _I'm just going to ignore that he is there and do what I had planned to do this morning._ She took her IPod out of her purse, placed the ear-buds in and hit play.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour had passed since House had come into the office. He had sat there in his reclining chair, tossing his tennis ball and thinking…and watching. Cameron had no idea his eyes were on her. She was lost in her files and her music. _My God she is beautiful…yeah – but boy did you screw up any chance of it working._ He felt like he was having a great debate with himself – "devil" House on one shoulder and "angel" House on the other. _Of course I screwed it up, because nothing good could come of us._ He sat and wondered if he had really put the last nail in **that** coffin. He knew he had been a jerk – but that was who he was, and nothing could change that.

His office door opened and in walked Wilson with a look of surprise on his face. He glanced down at his watch, and then at House again and shook his head. "And you are here this early why? Just to gawk at Cameron?"

House kept watching Cameron and answered back, "It's Oncologist Boy – here at the crack of dawn to save the little bald cancer kids and give me grief. Feel free to leave at any time."

"You're upset because she's still mad at you aren't you? Did you really expect anything different, House? You let her think you were gonna die! You let us ALL think you were going to die!"

House was silent as Wilson continued. "You've been wanting to push her into giving up her feelings for you for years. You finally got what you wanted – but now I'm sensing a bit of regret on your part."

Quietly, he responded. "I didn't mean to hurt her Jimmy. Not like this. Didn't really mean to hurt any of you. This wasn't just about getting high. My leg is getting worse and with Tritter and the Vicodan – what am I going to do when it just doesn't work anymore?"

"I don't know. But pushing away everyone who cares hasn't worked so far – why don't you try a different approach."

For the first time since Wilson had walked in, House turned and looked at him. "Like what?" he asked angrily. "You seem to have all the answers – fill me in!"

"You could start off by apologizing….to everyone – not just to her," Wilson said nodding in Cameron's direction.

House rolled his eyes and sighed, "Right – that will make a big difference. Let me guess – then we can end with a group hug and move forward like it never happened and all will be well with the world."

"Don't be such an ass..."

"It's what I am" he interjected.

"No – it's what you want all of us to think you are. Look, no matter what you say, I know you've got some pretty serious feelings for her and if you don't do something about them, it's going to be too late."

"I think it already is too late."

"Oh – so you've added soothsayer to your resume? I think she would surprise you if you'd give her a chance – if you'd give yourself a chance. Can it be any worse than not knowing?" With that said, Wilson headed down the hall to his office.

House sat there silently watching Cameron work and wondered what he should do. He looked outside and saw that it was getting light and that the fog was beginning to thin out. _If I don't say something to her now, I don't know when I'll have the chance again._


	2. Chapter 2

Cameron looked over just in time to see House say something to Wilson before Wilson walked out and over to his office. She hadn't even noticed him come in earlier. Looking at the clock, she was amazed to realize that more than an hour had gone by. _At least I got through most of his mail,_ she thought. She took the last letter from the printer and placed it into the folder. Putting her IPod away, she steeled herself for another frosty exchange. "Better get this over with," she said as she walked to his office, folder in hand.

"Better get what over with?" he asked.

"What? Have you got supersonic hearing now? Or can you read minds?" She thought how utterly dangerous the latter would be. "I got through most of your mail. These are the replies to the lecture requests – and yes – I denied them," she answered before he could ask.

"Now who's the mind reader?" He took the folder from her and for just a brief second, their hands touched. Instinctively, they both pulled back. House opened the folder and picked up his pen to start signing.

"I did want to ask you about this one though – it's from the University of Hawaii Medical Center and I thought…"

"I'm sorry" he said quietly, not taking his eyes off of the letters.

Thinking he had not heard her, she repeated herself, "I said I wanted to ask you about this one it's from the…"

"Cameron, I heard you – that's not what I'm sorry about." He stood up, took a deep breath and sighed. She could see something in his eyes that she had not seen before. "I'm sorry I hurt you…..with the cancer thing. It was never my intention."

"House….I….."

"I'm no good at this, so you've just got to let me finish."

She nodded silently and he continued.

"We've been through this before. I'm an idiot, I'm an ass and I say cold and stupid things. But, it's just who I am. Look, you've known all along that I had feelings for you and you were right when you said I didn't know how to deal with those feelings. But I still don't know how to deal with them. If I push you away you're hurt, but if I let you in, I'll end up hurting us both. I feel like I'm caught in a lose-lose situation – and you know how much I hate to lose."

As Cameron stood there taking this all in, she could feel the tears start to come. _Oh no, no, no! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry. _ She repeated this over and over in her head, like a silent mantra to her heart and soul.

He continued. "I'm not going to change. Too much has happened for me to change now."

"House, I don't want you to change."

"Maybe not now, but you will. You'll want the picket fence and the 2.5 kids and I can't promise you any of that. Not now and probably not ever."

Allison stood shaking her head. "No. What I want is the man who is standing in front of me right now, not the promise of what might be down the line. I don't want to fix you, because as you are, right now, you are complete for me and you are what I want."


	3. Chapter 3

Cameron paused a moment, and without a word, walked behind the desk to where House was standing. She took his hand and continued speaking, all the while looking into his crystal clear blue eyes. "I know that this won't be a smooth, bump free journey, House. There will be rough patches." She raised her free hand to his cheek and gently stroked it, smiling. "But, I happen to like your rough patches." She leaned forward and let her lips brush his.

"I have other rough patches, too, you know," he growled.

"Well, I'll just have to look into those, won't I?" she smiled broadly as he took her into his arms.

Their kiss began softly, each carefully exploring the other, but quickly grew into a burning need for taste and touch. As she felt his hands slip beneath her blouse, she felt a shiver run through her. His hands were so large that even with them at her waist, his thumbs were able to caress the side of her breasts. She could feel his desire for her growing, and as much as she wanted him to take her right there, she knew that his glass walled office was not the right place. She drew away from his lips and rested her head onto his chest. House rested his chin on the top of her head for a moment as they both tried to catch their breath. He exhaled loudly. "Looks like the fog is starting to burn off. They'll be flying that patient over any time now. Better wake up the wombat and Foreman and tell them to get their butts in here."

She leaned her head back to look up at him. "Ok. I'll go and make sure everything is ready for her arrival."

He leaned down, kissing her gently and said, "And we will continue this later – after dinner?"

She smiled and nodded as he reached for the phone to call the other ducklings in.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later, Cameron, Foreman and Chase were on the helipad to meet the Lifeflight Helicopter as it arrived from Trenton.

"50 year old female, acute liver and kidney failure. Vitals have all been stable on the flight over," the flight nurse reported.

"Mrs. Bishop? Hi – I'm Dr. Cameron. This is Dr. Chase and Dr. Foreman and we are part of the team working on your case. How are you feeling?" Cameron asked as they rode the elevator down from the roof. Under the fluorescent lights, the patient's jaundiced appearance was extremely evident.

"Very tired," she replied weakly.

"I know. It's been a pretty busy morning for you. After you get settled in your room we'll be back to talk to you. Do you have family coming to be with you?"

"Yes – my daughter is coming from Trenton."

"That'll be nice for you to have someone here with you. Ok. Here we are," Cameron said as they arrived at Mrs. Bishop's room. "The nurse will help you get comfortable. We'll see you in a little bit."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's about time you got back here!" House snarked as the ducklings arrived back in the Diagnostics Office. "What did you do? Walk her all the way to her room?"

All three of the younger doctors looked at him and shrugged their shoulders. Chase finally spoke up, "Well, yeah."

"Ok, ok. Look – this woman is heading into end stage liver failure. If we don't get a handle on what is causing this, she will be too sick to get a transplant if a donor can even be found, so let's get going on this. What does the file tell us?"

Cameron spoke up first. "50 year old female. Started with jaundice and abdominal pain approximately 2 ½ weeks ago. Has history of Hep A in 1963, and was diagnosed in 1992 with Hepatitis from Epstein-Barr. However, blood is negative for Hepatitis anti-bodies."

"Patient's P time is also very low. She's lucky that was discovered seconds before she was to undergo a liver biopsy 10 days ago," Chase added.

House responded, "Seconds after the biopsy and our lives would have been made so much easier. Simply stated - no clotting, no patient. She would have bled out right then and there. Cameron, re-run all the blood work and start her on Vitamin K shots to increase the clotting factor. Chase, get an MRI and an ultrasound of her liver. Do you have anything to add Foreman?"

"Kidney function is going downhill fast. She's going to need to start dialysis soon if this continues."

"Due to the increased workload from the liver failure. And unless we can stop the liver failure, downhill is the only direction she'll be going. Ultrasound her kidneys too – make sure there isn't anything else going on that we don't know about. Ok kidlets, let's get moving. She doesn't have a lot of time here." House said shooing them out of the office. "Besides, I need to go see Wilson. I know when that man has food and I am sensing Macadamia Nut Pancakes with my name on them."


	4. Chapter 4

Wilson unlocked the door to his office and quickly slipped inside locking the door behind him. As he turned to walk towards his desk, he could see the limping shape of someone on his patio. "_Damnit – patio door!"_ he thought, racing over to lock the door. As he reached for the handle, the door was pulled open.

"Wilson, I'm hurt. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to keep your pancakes all to yourself."

"The thought had crossed my mind," he said walking back towards his desk. "What do you want, House?"

Pulling a fork out from his jacket pocket, House reached over to stab the pancakes. "Besides your breakfast, you mean? I talked to her."

"Cameron?"

House looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"And?..." Wilson asked.

"And….we're gonna have dinner."

"So you apologized then?"

House again looked at him and rolled his eyes. "What is this? Ask stupid questions day?" He reached for the pancakes, but Wilson grabbed the plate away first. "Hey! What the he11 did ya do that for?"

"My office – my pancakes."

"Oh, yeah, fine. I finally come here to open my heart and soul to you and…."

Wilson laughed out loud. "You are so full of crp, House! You don't open your 'heart and soul' to anyone."

House got quiet. "I know, Jimmy. I just don't know if that can ever change. What the hell am I thinking with Cameron? This is just a recipe for disaster."

Wilson set the plate down and was just about to speak, when House reached over and grabbed the last bite of pancake. "Look you old jackss. She is the best thing to happen to you in years. For some demented reason, she loves you the way you are. I don't know why – I don't even LIKE you the way you are! But to find someone who will actually put up with ALL of you is…, jeez, I don't know – maybe she needs help more than you do."

"I know, I know. I just don't want to hurt her," House said getting up and heading for the door.

"Then remember that, and don't."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Her liver is huge," Chase said walking into the conference room with the MRI results in his hand.

"And her ALT and AST are through the roof," added Cameron, sitting down at the conference table. "But still no hepatitis anti-bodies."

House stood by the white board writing. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. So if it is not hepatitis, then what did she have before and what is killing her liver now?"

"How about Hemachromotosis?" Foreman asked. "Cameron, what's her ferritin level look like?"

"Nope, ferritin is within normal range," she replied glancing at the lab report.

"What about in the history. Anything about drug or alcohol abuse?" House asked.

"Patient says no to both. Occasional alcohol use, but very rare. No drugs. She says she's never even smoked a cigarette. The daughter confirms that." said Chase.

"Right…and let me guess….you believed her." House grumbled.

"Yeah. I do believe her." Chase said rather indignantly. "About the only thing we could find was some maternal alcohol abuse and the fact that both of her parents had smoked, but other than that, everything in **her** history is clean. Until she got so sick, the woman would bake cookies to take with her to her doctor's appointments for Gawd sakes. House - She's not lying."

Looking over her chart, Foreman asked, "What about non-alcoholic steato hepatitis?"

"Fatty liver?" Cameron asked, to which Foreman nodded yes. "No…her triglycerides are normal. Below normal actually."

"What if her liver is so far gone that it is just not able to produce the cholesterol that the tests measure? That would explain the low cholesterol levels."

"That could be right, but there is no way to tell without a biopsy, so let's do one." House declared.

"But we can't! With her bleeding time she'll bleed out right there." Cameron countered.

"Not if we do it transjugularly. Foreman get it set up for tomorrow morning. Chase, keep pumping Sandra Dee with Vitamin K. **If** she is able to get a transplant, she's going to need to **not** bleed to death on the table. Cameron – my office please."

Cameron followed House into his office with a quizzical look on her face. "What's wrong – sorry if I yelled back at you in there but..."

"No, no, I don't care about that. Dinner tonight, I'll pick you up - so dress for the bike."

She smiled. Ever since they went to the Munchausen patient's home she had been longing to get back on the bike with him. "What time?"

"7:30 ok?"

"I'll be ready."


	5. Chapter 5

Cameron looked up from her bathtub to check the time. It was only 6:30, but she wanted to be sure to have plenty of time to get ready. The warmth of the water and the scent of the vanilla bath gel had helped to ease her nervousness about the evening to come. She wondered where tonight would lead. _It's not like it's your first date,_ she thought, recalling that disastrous date they had had so many months before. Even then, even with his diatribe about why she cared for him, she knew that he had feelings for her. The corsage was a dead giveaway. She smiled when she thought of the roses she had so carefully dried and kept with the other important mementos of her life.

She rose out of the tub and grabbed a bath sheet to wrap around herself. Once in her room, she reached for the pink striped bag from Victoria's Secret that she had kept for so long. She carefully removed the black silk thong and matching lace bra from their tissue wrapping and laid them out on her bed._ I knew if I held onto these long enough, he would come around._ She put them on and went back to the bathroom to finish her hair. Remembering the reaction she had gotten from House the night of the Casino Fundraiser, she had taken time before getting into the tub to put her hair up in rollers so it would have that same curl he seemed to have enjoyed. She put on a pair of older, but well fitting, jeans and searched her closet for a blouse that would just show a hint of the lace on the bra. With her outfit complete, she stood back and looked at herself in the mirror. _Perfect – and with ten minutes to spare._ "Or not…" she smiled as she went to answer the knock on her door.

He knew he was done for as soon as she opened the door. She looked stunning. In jeans that hugged every curve she had and her hair tumbling in soft curls down to just above where the black lace from her bra peeked out, she looked as if she had just stepped out of one of his fantasies.

She looked at him with soft, warm eyes. "Hi." She took him by the hand and led him into her apartment.

"Hi yourself." He reached behind him, shutting the door, and pulled her back to him and into his arms. "Now, where were we?" He bent down to kiss her, but she leaned her head back.

"I thought we were going to continue this **after** dinner?" she said, smiling.

"Consider this the first course." He put his hands on her face and brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss. He felt her hands slide up his chest and back down, settling around his waist. He slid his hands behind her neck until they were lost in the tangle of her curls. His need for her was beginning to grow and he knew, if they didn't stop right then, there would be no turning back. "Allison…"

She kissed him again. "Mm, hmm."

"If we don't stop right now, I'm going to have to take another shower – this time cold – and we'll be late for our reservations."

She moved her lips along his jaw line, moving slowly towards his neck. "A shower could be arranged, you know." She stopped for a moment and looked into his eyes. "Ok," she said quickly kissing him. "Let me get my coat."

_This is the only place in the world I want to be_, Cameron thought. _Arms around the man I love._ She didn't want the ride to end, but soon they were pulling up in front of a small, Italian restaurant that looked like it was straight out of Lady and the Tramp.

Greg watched in amazement as she took off her helmet, shaking her hair and running her fingers through it, tempting it back into place. She took his breath away, a sensation he was not used to – at least not one he was used to giving in to. He extended his hand to her, which she took as they walked into the restaurant.

A rather large man greeted them and shook House's hand. "Buenasera, Dr. House – right on time. And this must be the lady you were telling me about. Bellissimo! Welcome to Palermo my dear." He took Allison's hand and placed a gentle kiss on it.

"Good evening, Giovanni. Yes, this is Dr. Cameron. And I agree. She **is** very beautiful."

Allison blushed as House spoke, but then smiled and added, "And you have a beautiful restaurant, Giovanni."

He took two menus and offered Allison his elbow, saying, "Come. I have the best table in the house for you."

Giovanni led them to a round booth in the back of the restaurant, in a quiet corner. A candle-lit chandelier hung over the table, illuminating the red and white checked table cloth in a soft glow. Allison slid into the booth and House followed on the opposite side.

"No, no, no – that will not do!" Giovanni scolded. "I give you the most romantic table we have and you sit like you are brother and sister." House rolled his eyes, causing Cameron to smile and start to chuckle as they both slid in towards the middle of the booth. "Now, isn't that better?" Giovanni smiled and clasped his hands. "For you – the best wine in the house – on the house – for Dr. House!" he laughed as he walked away to get the wine.

"He is such a sweet man" Cameron said.

"Sweet? Not quite sure that's how I would describe him, but his food is excellent."

A moment later, a waiter appeared with a bottle of wine. He showed the bottle to House, before pouring a small amount for him to taste. House tasted the wine and nodded his approval. After pouring the wine, first for Cameron, and then for House, the waiter took their orders and left them alone for the first time since they had arrived.

House reached over and took his glass, raising it, as Allison did the same.

"Allison, I don't know what our future holds." He took her hand. "I've spent too much of the past building myself into a corner. You're the only person who's ever been able to get through the walls I built up. I don't know if that is testament to you or shoddy workmanship on my part." She rolled her eyes and smiled. "But, I do know that I want to explore the future with you." She clinked her glass to his and they each took a drink.

"Wait, don't put that down yet." Allison said, still holding her drink up in the air. "I haven't had my say yet."

"Oh, jeez. You're not going to ask me about my feelings again are you? 'Cuz that didn't work out so well last time."

She put a finger to his lips to shush him. "Shhshh. My turn. Those walls that you have built are still there, Greg. That's part of who you are. I didn't break through them. I climbed up and over, so now we are in this little world of yours together. And I want to explore the future with you, too. Our future." She touched her glass to his, but instead of drinking, she leaned over and gently kissed him.


	6. Chapter 6

As their dinner drew to a close, House couldn't help but wonder where the evening would take them from here. His mind quickly wandered back to the kiss at Cameron's apartment and he felt a familiar heat begin to rise. He watched her as she walked back to the table after a trip to the ladies room. She wasn't aware that he was watching her as she stopped Giovanni and gave him a hug, thanking him for providing such a nice evening. He wanted to take her home, to his bed and make love to her until they both collapsed, exhausted. He knew that once they made love, things could never return to the way they had been. Ordinarily, that thought would have been enough to make him run in the other direction, but not now, not tonight.

Cameron came and sat back down next to him in the booth. "What are you thinking about?" she asked placing her hand over his.

Not looking up from his coffee, he answered her. "I'm thinking let's blow this joint and go back to my place. We have some unfinished business to attend to." He raised his eyes to see her reaction.

She grabbed her purse. "You really are a mind reader."

It was all she could do to not run her hands up under his shirt as they rode. With her jacket open, she was pressed up against his back and could feel the cool of his leather coat on her skin. Her heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come. She had never wanted someone as badly as she wanted him now. She tightened her grip around his waist and he sped up, as if he could sense her rising desire.

After what had seemed like an eternity, but in reality had only been 30 minutes, they pulled up in front of House's building. He dismounted the bike and turned to look at her. He saw a fire in her eyes that he was sure reflected the fire in his own and he knew there was no going back.

He unlocked the door to his apartment, placed the helmets down on the floor. Cameron walked in and took off her coat, throwing it over the back of the couch. He had turned away from her to lock the door, when he felt her hands slide around his waist and up under his shirt.

"I wanted to do that all the way here" she said.

"Then why didn't you?" He turned around, letting his jacket fall to the floor.

"For one thing, I wanted to make it here all in one piece. I didn't want to miss any of this." She slid her hands up the front of his shirt. The softness of the hair on his chest seemed in such contrast to his rough exterior and she wanted to bury her face in it. She lifted his shirt and he complied, pulling it off over his head.

His eyes were locked on hers as, one-by-one, he undid the buttons on her blouse. Only after he slipped the top from her shoulders did his eyes leave hers and glance downwards, eager to see the black lace that had been taunting him all evening. He watched her close her eyes as he let his hands wander to her breasts, his thumbs gently brushing across nipples that were already straining to be released from their thin fabric enclosure; the fabric which was the only barrier between his skin and hers. He wanted every part of her to be his tonight, starting with the soft moans that were escaping from her lips. His mouth hungrily captured the sounds of her pleasure as he undid the front clasp of her bra, releasing her breasts to his waiting hands.

Cameron gasped and caught her breath as she felt his hands surround her. As his mouth left hers and began to trail down the curve of her neck, she was able to mutter, "bedroom…." He smiled as he looked at her and took her hand, leading her down the hall. Dropping his cane and sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled Allison over to him, his mouth quickly returning to the place on her neck where it had been just moments before. She closed her eyes, running her hands through his hair as his hands trailed up and down her bare back, until they came to the waistband of her jeans. His hands brushed her belly, sending shivers straight through her as he fumbled with the button and slid her jeans down over her hips and to the floor.

As his lips found her breast, her knees began to buckle as if they could no longer support her weight, and she leaned into his arms. He stood up and turned her around, gently lying her down on his bed. Their eyes were locked once again in an unbreakable gaze as he undid and removed his own pants and boxers. He reached up and slid the black silk thong off of her and stood there for a moment just looking at her; trying to burn into his memory the image of how beautiful she looked in his bed, waiting for him. Her trembling voice broke the silence.

"Oh Greg…I've waited so long for you…I want you so much." She reached her hand out to him and he took it, sliding into the bed to join her.


	7. Chapter 7

Lying in his arms, Allison thought how perfectly their bodies fit each other. Even with their vast differences, lying like this, they nested together like, like, _spoons you dope_ she smiled and rolled her eyes at herself for once. _Hence the term spooning!_ She remembered how he had filled her completely, leaving no space between them, and how he had called her name before releasing himself to her. She remembered the soft kisses he had placed on her shoulders as he pulled her close to him before drifting off to sleep. Listening to his soft snores and feeling his warm breath on her shoulder, she, too, drifted off to sleep.

She was awakened by the sound of his voice. "House…it better be a good one…ok, move her to ICU…and start the dialysis. No. Don't call her. We can't do anything until the biopsy is done anyway. What time is that scheduled? Ok - I'll be in by then." She turned to him as he snapped the cell phone shut.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Patient's kidneys are gone." He reached for the bottle of Vicodin on the bedside table and shook two pills into his hand as he continued. "Foreman's moving her to ICU and getting the dialysis started." He tossed the pills into his mouth and dry swallowed them.

Cameron sighed, running her hand through her hair, as she yawned. "What about the biopsy?"

"Not scheduled until 10:00 a.m. and that's, um…" He turned to look at the clock on the table. "about 7 ½ hours from now. Dialysis'll be done by then so it shouldn't be a problem. Hey – where do you think you're going Dr. Cameron?" he asked as she moved to get out of his bed.

"I've got to go home and change before I go in."

"Allison, it's 2:30 in the morning. There's no reason for you to go in now. There's nothing you can do until after the biopsy anyway." He reached over and gently tugged her back into the bed. 

"Yes, but…."she argued.

"No buts!" he said moving his hands to her backside, "except this one – and it's not going anywhere right now."

This time, it was the sound of House's alarm clock that woke her. She reached over him as he slept and turned it off. As quietly as she could, she slipped out of his bed and glanced around the room. Spotting the clothes that had been so hastily discarded the night before, she grabbed his button down shirt to cover herself with and headed for his kitchen. Looking through the mostly empty cabinets, it didn't take her long to locate the coffee and get a pot started for them.

_I wonder what he has in the way of shampoo _she thought as she tiptoed her way to the bathroom. She peeked behind the shower curtain and stifled a laugh when she saw the small bottles of hospital issued shampoo and body wash. She shook her head as she thought _I wonder if this man EVER goes to the grocery store!_

House was slowly becoming aware of the sound of water running. And the smell of coffee? _What the? _he thought. _Allison._ Getting out of the bed, he slowly limped across the room to where his cane had landed the night before and wandered into the bathroom.

From the shower, Allison heard the sound of the toilet lid banging against the tank. "House?"

"Well, yeah – who else would it be?"

"I love your taste in shampoo and body wash."

"You know me – first class all the way."

Hearing the lid drop back down, Allison was about to invite House to join her, when she suddenly realized that he had flushed.

"HOUWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" she yelled, quickly moving to the end of the tub as far away from the shower spray as possible.

He pulled back the edge of the curtain and poked his head around. "Whoops," he said with an evil grin.

Standing with her hands on her hips, she gave the look right back at him. "And here I was about to invite you to join me."

"Don't mind if I do." He said, starting to step into the tub.

"Uh-uh…I don't think so buddy!" she said playfully, putting her hand on his chest as if to stop him. "I said I **was** going to invite you. That ship has sailed now!"

"Too bad – my shower, my rules," he retorted, moving her hand as he stepped in.

"Well, I guess if you put it that way…" She put her arms around his waist and pulled him closer to her, reaching for the water dial that was behind his back. As he leaned down to kiss her, she quickly turned it to C-O-L-D.

"AAAAAAAAAA!" he gasped as Cameron she laughed out loud, attempting to quickly jump out of the tub before he could grab her.

"Oh no you don't!" he said, grabbing her by the waist and forcing her directly into the pathway of the icy water.

"No! No! No!" she screamed, still laughing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I give up!"

He turned the water back to HOT and watched as it cascaded over her body. "That's more like it." he whispered, taking both of her hands in his. "I'm not taking any chances this time," he smiled as he leaned down and kissed her.


	8. Chapter 8

House dropped Cameron off at her apartment and headed towards the hospital. It just wouldn't be good for them to be seen arriving together, at least not at this point. He soon pulled into his parking space and headed for the lobby.

He was deep in thought about her and their night together as he walked towards the elevator. Too deep in thought, in fact, to notice that Cuddy had come out of her office with a stack of clinic files in her hands.

"House!" she yelled as he continued towards the elevator, oblivious to her.

"HOUSE!" she yelled more vehemently, her heels making loud clicks on the marble floor as she begin to pursue him.

"Huh?" he turned towards the sound of his name as it jolted him out of his daydream. _Oh crap._ He pushed the elevator button hoping it would be there to enable his escape. "Can't talk Cuddy – patient's dying ya know." The door opened and he quickly got in and pushed the Close Door button with his cane

Furious, she yelled, "Hold that elevator!"

A young man, who had already been on the elevator, reached over to press the Open Door button. Seeing this, House quickly put his cane down on the man's foot, causing him to yell out in pain, and distracting him from his task. Housed looked at Cuddy with a feigned look of surprise and mouthed, "Oops!" as the door closed, allowing the elevator to begin its ascent.

"Did you get the dialysis done?" House asked as walked into the conference room where Foreman and Chase were.

"Yeah, but I don't know how much longer we're going to able to keep her alive like this." Foreman answered.

House picked up his broken mug and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Ugh! Where the hell is Cameron and which one of you morons made this crap?" he yelled, pouring the contents of his mug down the drain.

Chase spoke up and said, "She called and said she would be about ½ an hour late. She had something to pick up on her way in."

"So, you made this?" House asked as he poured the contents of the coffee carafe into the sink.

"Yup. I didn't think it was that bad really."

"How many times have I told you, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE COFFEE! Just for that, go down to the clinic until I page you with the biopsy results." House tossed him his name badge. "And make sure you sign in as ME this time!" he added as Chase left the Diagnostics Office. "Damn fool tried to take credit himself for doing my hours last time!"

"Imagine that." Foreman said, shaking his head. "He actually wanted to get credit HIMSELF for the work he did. He should be fired."

"I wouldn't say anything if I were you. You haven't made it on to daddy's good side yet after killing that chick last week."

Foreman, still reeling from his fatal error, glared at House. "I think I'll join Chase in the clinic."

"Good idea." House answered. "Don't kill anyone this week!" he shouted after him.

Wilson's pager beeped just as he brought the bagel up to his mouth. "Gddamnit!" he muttered, reading the display. MY OFFICE-911-HOUSE. He leaped up from his chair and headed down the hall, but found the diagnostics office empty. He walked over and stuck his head out the patio door just in time to see the door to his office shut.

"Damnnit - House!" he turned and ran back to his office.

"Thanks for the bagel Jimmy. But next time, I really do prefer plain over the ones with the raisins and cinnamon. This one is, just, so, well, girly."

"HOUSE!" Wilson yelled, grabbing the other bagel half out of his reach.

Wilson took his remaining bagel half and sat down across from House. "Was there a point to this?" he asked holding up the pager. "Or was it just a decoy so you could, once again, steal my breakfast?"

"Mostly, it was a decoy, and not a bad one at that. Got any coffee?" he asked holding out his broken mug.

Exasperated, Wilson pulled the thermos out from behind his desk and poured some into his friend's cup. "What the hell happened to that?" he asked pointing to the mug.

"Cameron."

"She broke your mug? What did you do to her now?"

"Hello?? Dr. Wilson to Observation! That happened yesterday. And I didn't do anything to her – at least not anything that wasn't completely consensual – emphasis on the sensual."

"I take it then that dinner went well."

"Yeah - If you enjoy Italian food followed by mind-blowing sex."

"You slept with her? Already?!"

"Geez Wilson. It **was** our 3rd date."

"Third date? I thought this was your second date?"

"Monster truck rally. Remember? She took the incredibly awesome, and expensive, seat I bought for you."

"But you said that wasn't a date."

"So what are you saying then? That I'm a slut because I put out before the 3rd date? You are making this seem so, so - dirty!" he cried.

Wilson just shook his head and replied. "No. Just remember what you said yesterday about not wanting to hurt her."

"Ok, Dr. Wilson. I promise. But….do you still respect me?" he said sarcastically, pouting his bottom lip out.

"What do you mean still?" Wilson said with a smile.

"Touché my friend." he replied walking out of the office and back to his own.

Cameron had just started to make coffee, when House returned from Wilson's office. He smiled at her as he walked in.

"It's about time you got her Dr. Cameron. Just because you're sleeping with the boss doesn't mean you can slack off you know!"

"I missed you, too House. Here." she said, handing him a small bag.

"What's this?"

"Just open it."

He reached inside and pulled out a new coffee mug. "It's blue."

"Well, they didn't have red."

"But, it's blue!"

"Look, it matches your eyes."

"But, mom!" he whined. "I wanted a REDDDDD one!"

"You can't always get what you want." she laughed, wagging her finger at him.

"But sometimes, you get what you need!" he answered, grabbing her and pulling her close.

"House – glass walls….." she cautioned.

"Yeah – yeah. I'd love to know what idiot came up with that idea." he replied letting go of her waist, but taking her by the hand and pulling her in to his office. "However, I could kiss the guy who invented these!" he continued, pulling the blinds shut. "But, I'll kiss you instead."

He took her in his arms and passionately placed his lips on hers. He stepped back after a moment, prompting Cameron to look at him quizzically. "What's wrong?"

"What kind of shampoo do you usually use?"

"Uh….it's just the cheapie Suave Strawberry stuff, why?"

"You need to get a bottle and leave it in my shower."

Cameron was looking very confused at this point. "Um…okay…..why? What's this about?"

"You usually smell so good and…"

"And what? I DON'T today?" she interrupted, stepping back with her hands on her hips.

"No, no, no! It's not that you smell **bad**. It's just that you don't smell, well, like you. You smell like ME! And there is just something so WRONG about that!"

Cameron burst out laughing. "I promise I won't use your shampoo again, ok?" She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss.

"Ok" he said, holding her tightly and returning his lips to hers.

After a few moments, she pulled away and glanced at the clock on his wall. "House."

His lips trailed down her neck. "I'm busy."

She smiled. "I understand that, really, I do. But it's almost 10:00. I think we have a biopsy to do."

"Why do you have to be so damn responsible?" His kisses continued to her shoulder as he moved the collar of her blouse over.

She walked away and towards the office door, but paused and turned back to him before leaving. "One of us has to be!" she replied with a wink. "C'mon. Let's go."

House sighed heavily and followed her out of the office, muttering loudly, "Slave driver!"

She stopped and turned around, with a sly look on her face. "Hmmmm. If **I'm** the slave driver, then that makes you…"

He put his hand up to stop her. "Don't say it! Just hold that thought for later."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"What is that?" Cameron asked, as House handed her the biopsy sample dish.

"That, believe it or not, is the sample from Sandra Dee's liver."

"But it's white. House, liver tissue is red."

"I know. I went to med school too. I even have that anatomy flip chart – you know, the one with all the cool pictures."

Allison shook her head and continued. "You must have gotten into a pocket of fat in the liver."

"Repeated it three times. This, " he said, pointing to the dish, "is what her liver looks like. Run what tests you can. Call me when you're done."

"Ok….but don't expect too much." she replied and turned to process the sample.

Cameron walked into the conference room and dropped the lab reports on the table. "This woman has almost NO functioning liver tissue."

House looked surprised. "Well, yeah, we kind of figured that out by the fact that her liver isn't functioning!" He picked up the report and read the results as Chase reached for a copy.

Chase shook his head, "This can't be right. Are you sure you weren't in a fat pocket when you got the sample?" he asked looking over at House.

Not even looking up from the page he was reading, House answered him. "Yes Chase. I can ASSURE you that, unlike you, **I** tested the **correct** body part, and in fact, I tested the correct body part three times. Her liver is basically fat with a few strands of liver tissue holding it all together."

"She's going to need a transplant much sooner than we had anticipated." Cameron added.

"Yeah – like yesterday." said House, tossing his report back on to the table. "And to quote Cuddy "we ain't exactly swimming in livers."

"Add a kidney to that, too." Foreman said, walking in to the room. He dropped his own set of lab results onto the table. "She's barely got 5 kidney function."

House turned back to the table and picked up the new report. "Did you tell Cuddy so she can update her status on the transplant list?", his eyes on Foreman.

"Yes. I stopped by her office and gave her a copy of the report before I came up here. She said she would update us on her status as soon as she was notified."

"Ok….well, speak of the she-devil!"

Cuddy glared at House as she entered the Diagnostics Office, turning instead to direct her announcement to Foreman and the other ducklings. "She's at the top of the list. The next compatible liver and kidney are hers"

"Now all we have to do is wait." Cameron said.

With an air of foreboding, House headed towards his office, adding "And hope they become available in time."

Cameron sat at her desk working on getting House's charting caught up, when Chase walked into the office.

"It is Tuesday Cameron, and I wanted to remind you, again, that if you are ever interested…"

"I'm not" she said, cutting him off.

"Ok, but if you should change your mind, I'm going to…" he persisted.

"Will you PLEASE drop this!! It is over between you and I – whatever it was is OVER" she exclaimed, her voice getting louder as she continued, "I want you to stop asking me every freakin' Tuesday if I am still interested in pursuing a relationship with you. I was never interested in pursuing a **relationship** with **you** and that is not going to change!"

Hearing the increasing volume and tension in Cameron's voice, House stepped out of his office. "Is there a problem?"

"No Greg, I'm fine" she said, looking over at him. "And we," she turned to look at Chase, "are **done** here."

Chase got quiet for a moment and then said, "Greg? When did you start calling him Greg?" His eyes widened as he realized what was going on. "Wait just a minute. Are you telling me…

"She's not telling you anything Chase. Except to quit your futile and may I add, juvenile, attempts to continue your little arrangement."

Chase stared at Allison in disbelief. "Well, I guess your plan bloody well worked then." He shook his head as he walked towards the door. "I'll be in the clinic."

Cameron stood up as he left and yelled after him, "There was NO plan!!"

"Grrrrr!" she growled. "God that just pisses me off!" she yelled pushing her chair into her desk for emphasis. She looked over at Greg, who was still standing in the doorway. "There WAS NO PLAN."

"Whoa – ok. **I **believe you. Look, he's as ticked off at losing you to me as I would've been if it was the other way around." He said with almost a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"Not that that every could've happened!" He smirked and walked back into his office.

Allison smiled and shook her head, thinking _You are right. That NEVER would have happened._

She was about to get back to the charting when Foreman came bursting into the room. "We have a donor."

"Thank God" she said.

"The team just left for Harrisburg. They're going to call after the recovery is done."

"Are you going to go tell Mrs. Bishop's daughter?" Cameron asked.

"I was on my way there right now. You want to come with me?"

"No….I really want to get this charting caught up while I have a chance, ok?"

"Sure." Foreman replied, adding "You know, he should have a damn secretary."

"Don't go there!" Cameron laughed, turning her attention back to the stack of charts on her desk.

_Oh_ she thought. _I need to let House know about the donor._ "House!"

"I heard him!" he said, walking back into the conference room. "I'm going to go get a sandwich. Do you want anything?"

"Would you bring me back a chicken caesar salad?" She asked, reaching for her purse.

"Yeah." He waved his hand towards her. "Don't worry about it. I've got it."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't look so shocked. Can't I buy my girlfriend lunch? Or are you gonna go all feminist on me?"

"I'm just surprised…..pleasantly surprised," she added. "Thank you."

Leaning over the desk, he gave her a quick kiss. "You can thank me later!" he said with a smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Hmmm….I look forward to it."


	10. Chapter 10

When the Fog Lifts

Chapter 10

House returned shortly, with a loaded down cafeteria tray wedged between his chest and his arm. When Cameron looked up and saw him struggling to open the door, she ran over and took the tray from him.

"I can't believe you got all of that with one hand!" she exclaimed, putting the tray down on the conference room table.

He looked at her and held up his hand, wiggling his fingers. "It's amazing what I can do with this hand."

She grinned back at him. "Oh yes….I seem to remember something about that…" Taking her salad, she set it on her desk and turned to get her drink.

"What? Don't I get a thank you?" he asked.

"Thank you."

"That wasn't quite what I had in mind" he said taking her by the hand and walking into his office. He locked the doors and pulled the blinds shut.

"Well, just what **did** you have in mind?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I thought I'd set up my web cam and...OW! No hitting the CRIPPLE!"

"I didn't hit your leg – I hit your butt…and since you yourself have said you're nothing but an ass, I think you can take it." Her hand slowly drifted across his backside, gently rubbing where her open palm had just landed.

"Now you've got to kiss it and make it all better ya know…"

"Hmmm….I didn't know I had that much power….all it will take is a kiss to make it better?" she said, undoing the button and zipper on his pants and sliding them down as she moved around to stand behind him.

"Well, it might take a little more than a kiss…." Stepping out of his jeans, he could feel his desire for her begin to rise as she slid the waist band of his boxers down. He became aware of her breath on his exposed backside and dropped his cane to the floor, grasping the bookshelf for support instead. The groan escaped his throat involuntarily when he realized that her lips had replaced her breath. Her hands slid down from his waist to surround the length of him, causing him to quiver with anticipation.

Cameron then began to move upwards, lifting his shirt off and placing soft kisses up his back until she reached his shoulders. She turned him around and, for the first time, really was able to see his scar. She saw the hesitation in his eyes as she let her fingers, and then her lips, move the length of it, becoming familiar with the hills and valleys that were so much a part of who he was.

Before she stood up, she let her lips drift across him, and her name softly escaped from his lips. She helped him sit in the nearby recliner, and stood in front of him, undressing as he watched her intently. As she slipped her panties off, he reached for her and pulled her on to him. He could tell how excited she was by the ease of his entry and she gasped as he thrust deeper inside of her. They were in perfect sync with each other; moving together, breathing together and speaking each others name together as they reached the peak and tumbled over the edge.

After speaking with Mrs. Bishop's daughter, Foreman grabbed a sandwich with Chase and then returned to the conference room, finding it empty upon his arrival. Even House's office was dark and the blinds were drawn. He looked at his watch. _No. Too early for them to have left,_ he thought. A full, yet untouched, lunch tray sat on the table. "Where the hell did they go?" he muttered walking over to Cameron's desk. He noticed her purse under the desk as he picked up the phone and paged House.

"Damnnit!" cursed House, reaching over to where his pants lay on the floor. He retrieved the buzzing pager and looked at it and then looked at Cameron. "You just paged me?!" he asked, showing her the display.

"Not me – the phone on my desk. Someone's paging you from out there." she answered, motioning towards the conference room. _Oh God – please don't let it be Chase again_ she silently added.

She climbed out of his arms and began to gather up her clothes as he quickly pulled on his boxers and jeans and walked to his door. "WHAT?!" he bellowed, cracking the door open just a bit.

Foreman jumped. "House!…uh, I was just wondering where everyone was."

"Now you know. Do you actually **need** something?" he demanded.

"Well, I told Mrs. Bishop's daughter we'd come to get her at about 5:30 for the transp…"

"Yeah – great – anything else? I'm busy."

"Well, no, but…what are you doing in there?" Foreman tried to peek through the opening of the door, but could see nothing because of the darkness.

"Having sex – now go away." House shut and locked the door.

Surprised by the answer, Foreman loudly asked, "With who?!", but got no response.

Taking another look at the lunch tray – and the unopened salad on Cameron's desk – he exhaled loudly. Shaking his head, he thought back to his conversation at lunch, _Oh God No! Chase was right._ "This is going to be SO BAD." He muttered out loud, placing his head in his hands.

"What's going to be so bad?" Chase asked walking into the office.

"Oh man – you were right." Foreman said.

"Right about what?"

Pointing to the darkened office, he answered. "House and Cameron. She's in there with him right now!"

"You've bloody well got to be kidding me. She's in there? Now? With House?"

Foreman nodded.

"You actually saw her?" Chase questioned.

"Saw who?!"

Both Chase and Foreman, with a look of shock, whirled around to see the source of the familiar voice. "WHAT the?" they both asked looking from Cameron to the darkened office, and back again.

"I asked you who you saw?" she repeated, not taking her eyes off of the two perplexed fellows.

"Um….nobody, I guess…" Foreman said, shrugging and looking over at Chase.

"Yeah. Nobody." he concurred.

"Okay…Thank God lunch is here – I'm starved!" She walked away from the boys and smiled to herself. _And thank God for Wilson and that patio door, too!_


	11. Chapter 11

Note...as I think many of you know...the medical end of this story is based on my mom's experience...and yes, the events of this chapter did happen. It was not a fun day, but 12 years later, I'm happy to say she is still chugging along! LOL

When the Fog Lifts

Chapter 11

House glanced at the display on his ringing cell phone.

5:12 p.m. Unknown Caller

_Hmmm...must be the recovery team calling to let us know they're on their way back._

He picked up the phone and answered. "House."

"Dr. House. This is Dr. Brown on the transplant recovery team." answered the voice on the other end.

"You guys on your way back with my liver and kidney?"

"Well…not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly?"

"The liver is fine. There's a problem with the kidney, though."

"What kind of problem?" House inquired.

"Horseshoe kidney."

"Crap. So, not transplantable."

"Nope. What do you want to do about the liver? I wanted to check with you before we let it go."

"Hate to see you come back empty handed, but our lady really needs both. So, yeah, let it go to the next guy."

"Ok. Sorry about that." Dr. Brown said.

House scowled. "Not as sorry as the doctor who has to tell her family is gonna be."

"Next one for sure." Brown added.

"If she lives that long."

_Ah...must be time to get Mrs. Bishop for her surgery _both Foreman and Chase thought as their pagers went off simultaneously.

**OFFICE – HOUSE – NOW**

"Ready to get her prepped?" Foreman asked as he and Chase casually walked into House's office. They saw Cameron sitting, staring silently at the floor.

"Nope. Surgery's cancelled." House said emotionlessly.

Chase asked "What do you mean cancelled?"

"Cancelled – not happening – no go – icksnay on the urgerysay…..Kidney was no good."

Both of their faces dropped upon hearing that news. "No good?" Chase exclaimed.

House turned to him with a look of exasperation. "Yes – no good! Unusable. Worthless….Horseshoe kidney."

They both nodded, recognizing the problem.

"Have you told the family yet?" Foreman asked.

"Nope….that's what I've got you boys for."

Cameron lifted her gaze from the floor and rose from the chair. "I'll do it."

All three of the other doctors turned to look at her, somewhat surprised. Historically, Cameron had not had a good track record when it came to passing along bad news to patients. House stared at her until his eyes caught hers. He quickly raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, _Are you sure you want to do this?_ Allison gave a slight, and silent, nod of agreement in his direction and walked out the door.

"Ok. Looks like you boys are off the hook for now." House said, looking down at the tennis ball in his hands.

Chase turned to go after her.

"Chase! Leave her be" instructed House, tightening his grip on the ball.

"But you know how she is in these situations. She might be able to use my…"

"She doesn't need you." The double meaning of House's statement was not lost on Chase, who turned to look at him with eyes full of rage. House lifted his eyes to meet Chase's stare head on and continued. "She's a big girl. She can handle more than you could ever imagine."

Foreman glanced down and saw Chase's hands curl into fists by his side. He knew he had to get him out of there before…SLAM! Foreman jumped at the sound of Chase's fist hitting the desk.

"Just what in the hell are you trying to say House?" Chase hissed, his eyes never leaving those of his boss. Chase felt Foreman's hand on his arm, pulling him backwards from the desk. He quickly turned his stare towards him and said, "DON'T!" Foreman removed his arm and backed away.

House used that brief break in eye contact, to stand, catching Chase off-guard when he turned back towards him.

"What? Are you so dense that I have to explain **that** to you, too? Leave her be, Chase."

"Or what?! I don't answer to you!"

"Well, actually, at least if you value your job, not to mention any future recommendations, you do."

"Are you threatening me, House?"

"Again with the questions! No! I'm not threatening YOU…just any hope you might have of ever working again if you do not LEAVE HER BE!" The volume of House's voice rose and he slammed his cane down for emphasis.

Foreman exhaled loudly. "Chase – c'mon. It's after 5:30. Let's go get a drink." He put his hand back on Chase's shoulder and quietly said again, "Chase…"

Chase looked down, finally breaking the death glare he had had on House, but quickly returned to stare at him again. "If you ever do anything to hurt her…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" House answered. "Your inner (House puts in air quotes) Prince Charming will come out and I'll be forced to cower like, a, well, like y…"

"HOUSE!" Foreman yelled, stopping his boss in mid-sentence. "Now YOU need to drop it." He turned to Chase. "Come on. I'm buying."


	12. Chapter 12

When the Fog Lifts

Chapter 12

Allison took a deep breath before she slid open the door to Mrs. Bishop's room. She noticed a young woman, probably about 30, sitting at the edge of the bed, holding Mrs. Bishop's hand as they spoke quietly. She looked up as she heard the door open and stood to greet the approaching doctor.

"You must be Dr. Cameron. I'm Shelley, Ann's daughter." the younger woman said, extending her hand toward Allison. "Are you here to get my mom? 

Allison shook her hand. "Yes, I am Dr. Cameron. I'm afraid I have some bad news. The surgery has been cancelled."

"Cancelled? Why? What happened?" Shelley asked, looking over at her mother who was too weak to ask for herself.

"Well, there was a problem with the donor's kidney and-"

Shelley cut Allison off, her eyes begging for an answer. "But the liver is ok, right? That's what most important. She can continue on the dialysis for her kidneys."

Allison exhaled heavily and continued. "Unfortunately, when a patient requires a double organ transplant, it is vital that those organs come from the same donor, otherwise the chances of rejection increase dramatically."

A whispered "Oh no" escaped Shelley's lips and she sat back down, the implications of what Cameron was saying sinking in.

"I am so sorry. The donor's kidneys were deformed. Conjoined actually. It's called horseshoe kidney, and although it functioned fine for him, it makes the kidney unable to be transplanted. It's just something that we don't become aware of until we actually get in there to do the recovery." Cameron reached out and put her hand on Shelley's shoulder. "Your mom is still #1 on the list, so the next available donation is hers. I know the waiting is hard, but-"

"What about me? Could I donate my kidney?" Shelley asked.

Cameron was about to answer, when Ann quietly spoke up. "No. I won't let you Shelley."

Shelley walked over to the bed. "But Mom, if I could give you a kidney that would eliminate one part of the puzzle."

"No. You have Megan to think of."

"Megan's fine Mom."

"Right now she is, but you don't know what the future might hold for her. I couldn't live with myself if she needed a kidney down the line and you couldn't help her because you had already helped me. No Shelley. We will wait."

Cameron spoke up. "Your offer is wonderful, Shelley. But it would still be the same situation. Both organs really need to come from the same donor if the transplant is to be successful. And your mom is right – you need to think about your daughter, too." She walked over to where Ann lay and put her hand on hers. "We'll continue with the dialysis until a donor becomes available Ann and like I said, you're first up on the list. Ok? Any questions for me?"

Ann silently shook her head and weakly said, "No. Thank you Dr. Cameron."

"You rest now. You, too, Shelley. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Shelley nodded, tears silently rolling down her face, "Thank you, Dr. Cameron." and she returned to sit on the edge of her mother's bed.

Cameron walked out of the room, struggling to hold back her tears. She knew House would be furious with her if he saw her crying. She punched the up button on the elevator and headed for the roof to gather herself before returning to the Diagnostics Office.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

House looked up from his PSP to check the time again. _Hmph. Five minutes later than last time I checked. Where the hell is she? It shouldn't take THIS long to deliver the news. Yeah – but it's Cameron. She's probably sitting in there holding hands and crying with her right now._ Closing the PSP, he shook his head and reached for his cane.

The nurse on duty looked up in surprise as House pulled the binder marked BISHOP, A from the rack. Having gotten the room number, he quickly replaced the binder and limped down the hall. He had no intention of actually visiting with the patient. He was only there to extricate Cameron from what he assumed would be a gathering of weeping women. But, to his surprise, she was not there.

He returned to the nurses station and asked, "Have you seen Dr. Cameron?"

"She left about 10 minutes ago. You must be Dr. House," the nurse answered with a smile.

"Must be. Which way did she go?"

"Um, I think she took the elevator up"

House turned on his heel and walked to the elevator.

The smile now gone from her face, the nurse muttered, "You're welcome…" and turned to her colleague. "I sure wouldn't want to be Dr. Cameron right now."


	13. Chapter 13

This one is a little longer than Chapter 12. And I took a little bit of creative license with Wilson's wives. Enjoy! R/R please! Thanks!

Usual disclaimers...

When the Fog Lifts

Chapter 13

The sun was beginning to wane in the western sky when Cameron arrived on the roof. She leaned on the wall and gazed at the shades of pink and purple on the horizon as her tears fell. In order to hope that her patient would get well, someone else would have to die, and that was just not something she could hope for. _ This is why I didn't go into transplant surgery,_ she thought, wiping the tears from her face, _how do you balance thinking like that?_

She rubbed her face with her hands and yawned. Even with all of the joy she felt at her budding relationship (_Is that the right word for it?_ she thought.), the last couple of days had been long ones and she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before. She smiled thinking of the reason behind the lack of sleep, and of their little deception that afternoon. Wilson had looked SO surprised when she had run through his office from the patio with just a wave in his direction. She would have to stop and explain that to him later, if House hadn't already.

Leaning her arms over the edge of the wall, she yawned again as she stretched.

"You're not gonna jump are you?"

Smiling, she turned to see House walking towards her.

"No, not today I don't think," she replied, wrapping her arms around him.

"Because it wouldn't look very good for me if you did, ya know – us being together for only two days and all. Although, I'm sure somebody, somewhere in this place, would win the hospital pool on us."

"There is a pool on us – on you and me – on how many days THIS will last?" she asked pointing back and forth between them to emphasize her point.

He pulled her back into his arms. "No, not yet. But I'm sure there's going to be."

She leaned back and looked up at him. "Well, when you put your $5 in, and I **know** you will, make sure you pick a high number….a VERY high number."

He moved his hands to her face and pulled her lips close, softly enveloping them in his own. Caressing her cheek, he whispered to her, "You've been crying, Dr. Cameron."

She looked down for a moment, but then returned her gaze to his. "Well, I could lie and tell you no."

"Yes, you could. But besides the fact that your damp face tells me otherwise," he stroked her face with his fingers, "you don't really want to prove me right, do you?"

She smiled at him. "No, I probably don't." She put her forehead down on his chest. "I just don't know how the transplant teams do it. I mean, how do you as a doctor, care about your patients, not to mention your job, yet know that all of that depends on the deaths of others?" She turned away from House and looked over at the horizon, as the sun finally dropped out of sight.

"It's like real estate..."

"WHAT?" she interrupted, turning to look at him again.

"Location-location-location. Look, you don't actually hope for the death of someone. You just have to assume **that's **going to happen. What you hope is that when it does, everyone and everything is in the right place to make a transplant work. Like I said, location-location-location."

Allison sighed and shook her head. "Only you could use a real estate metaphor for something like this….but, I get what you're trying to say. Kind of scares me that I get it, but I do."

House put his hands on her shoulders. "Hah! The conversion has begun!" he said, followed by a menacingly evil laugh. "C'mon. Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah…I want to go soak in a hot tub until I'm wrinkled like an old lady."

Wrinkling his nose in mock disgust, House said, "That's not quite the image I had in mind."

"Well, YOU don't have to watch then."

"But I want to….and I have just the place in mind."

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In her car, Allison struggled to keep up with House, who was on his bike. She still didn't know where they were going, as he had told her to just follow him. So follow him she did, for about 25 minutes, before finally pulling up in front of, his house?

"What are we doing here? Did you need to pick up something?" she asked from her car window.

"Nope. Go park it and come on in." he yelled as he walked toward the building.

"House – wait! I'll be right back. There's something I need to go pick up."

"Like what? I thought I was all you needed!" he said arms wide.

Allison rolled her eyes at him and sped off. Thinking ahead that morning, she had thrown a change of clothes and a toothbrush into a bag in the trunk, but there was something else she hadn't thought of and she headed to the nearest drug store in search of it.

_Hmm_, he thought. _That gives me an idea. _He walked into the apartment, leaving the door unlocked, and headed down the hall to his guest bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

About 15 minutes later, Cameron arrived back at House's. With her bags in hand, she knocked on the door. She heard a muffled "Ow! Damnnit!" followed by "It's open" in the distance, so she slowly turned the handle.

She stuck her head in the apartment, which was dark. "Greg? Are you here?"

"Yeah - In here. Lock the door behind you." she heard from down the hall.

She locked the door, leaving her bag of clothes on the floor. Carrying the bag from the drug store, she walked towards his voice. As she entered the guest bathroom, she found it bathed in candlelight from the small, glass candles that were scattered throughout the small room. She picked up one that was purple and read:

_James and Bonnie_

_May 15, 1990_

She smiled and picked up another one, blue this time, and read:

_James and Julie_

_February 14, 2001_

"Don't forget wife #1" House said, pointing to yet another candle, this one in a lovely shade of green:

_James and Missy_

_August 21, 1986_

"I knew these would come in handy someday. This one's a collector's item." he said tossing her one he had not yet lit.

_James and Audrey_

_December 31, 1999_

"It's the one that never happened. They broke up right before. I've got a bunch of those," he explained, pointing to the other yellow candles set up around the room.

Allison couldn't hold the laughter in any longer. As she laughed she took his face in her hand's and kissed him. "Thank you for doing this."

"Yeah…well…what did you have to go off so desperately in search of? Girly things?"

Reaching into the bag, she produced a bottle of strawberry shampoo and a bottle of strawberry body wash. "Just these. Wanted to make sure I smell like me you know."

He finished lighting the last candle and turned back to her. "Hmmm….only problem is, I might end up smelling like you."

"Were you planning on joining me?" she asked, with a rather large smile on her face.

"I was considering it." he answered, leaning down to kiss her.

"Mmmm…I'd like that. I'd also like a large glass of this." she said pulling a bottle of wine from the bag.

He took the bottle from her and kissed her again. "I'll be back," he declared and limped off towards the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

When the Fog Lifts

Chapter 14

Allison drizzled a capful of body wash under the stream of hot water, causing it to erupt into bubbles. She pulled her hair up into a lose bun on top of her head and stepped over the tall side of the antique, claw-foot bathtub. As she sunk beneath the bubbles and into the warmth of the water, a sigh escaped her lips. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, eager to put the bad part of her day behind her.

House stopped and hit play button on the CD player before he hobbled back to the bathroom, his arms laden with the bottle of wine, a bottle of scotch and two glasses, he paused for a moment to take in the scent and sight before him. The strawberry scented bubbles, which were reflecting the candlelight, had not quite risen high enough to cover Allison's breasts as she lay there, eyes closed, with an almost angelic look of peace on her face. Quietly setting the bottles and glasses down on the floor, he took his cell phone off of his belt and adjusted the viewfinder. Although this was a sight he was sure would stay with him for a **long** time, he wanted to be sure it was preserved for posterity. After saving the image, he turned off the phone. He did not want their evening interrupted by anyone, least of all the Wombat, who had drawn the short stick for the night shift.

Reaching over to turn off the water, he brought his lips gently to hers. "Mmmm" she sighed, opening her eyes.

He poured the glass of wine and handed it to her, filling the other glass with scotch for himself. "**You** are beautiful," he said, taking a long drink.

"Thank you," she replied, as much for the compliment as for the wine, swirling it in the glass before drinking it down.

"Beautiful…" he repeated. "And….thirsty." He reached for the bottle, asking "Yes?" with a raised brow. She nodded silently in return as he refilled her glass. She took a long sip before handing it back to House, who, after finishing off his own drink, set their glasses down on the vanity.

He stood there, unable to take his eyes, or his mind, off of her. He had thought, and fantasized about scenes like this many times over the three years since he had hired her. But he had never believed that the visions of his imagination could possibly become reality. And yet, here she was. Naked. Surrounded by candlelight. The music of the great Jesse Baker softly wafting in from the other room. The thought that it could all be a dream crossed his mind because it just seemed too perfect.

"So, are you going to just stand there staring or are you going to join me?" she asked.

House was jolted out of his trance by the sound of Cameron's voice. _Oh Thank God_ he thought. _It's not a dream._ He set his cane aside and removed his shirts, letting them, followed quickly by his pants and boxers, drop to the bathroom floor.

"I guess I've got my answer" she said, grinning widely.

"Slide down woman," he replied, stepping into the tub. "Aaah! Damn Cameron! That's really hot!" he yelped, sliding down in behind her.

"I like it hot" she said with a husky tone to her voice, wiggling her eyebrows at him for emphasis.

"I know, but I don't want the family jewels turning into Rocky Mountain Oysters," he whined.

"Don't be such a baby!" she laughed, slapping him on the leg.

"Oooo…do that again." he moaned sarcastically.

"So much for the relaxing part of my bath," she said throwing her hands up and shaking her head.

House grabbed the bottle of body wash and squeezed some into the palm of one hand, rubbing it with the other until he had a palm full of lather. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he began to knead the tension that had built there away.

"Ohhhh…" she quietly groaned, her head lolling forward as his hands slid up and down her back, his thumbs pressing on either side of her spine. Grabbing the empty scotch glass, he lightly poured the warm water down her back, rinsing the suds away.

Getting more of the body wash, he slid his soapy hands around to her breasts, his lips moving from the nape of her neck upwards. "Relaxing enough for you?" he whispered into her ear, before moving his lips to her shoulder.

She leaned back into his chest, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "Much better, but please…keep going."

"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon."


	15. Chapter 15

When the Fog Lifts

Chapter 15

Allison had reached a new level of relaxation. Lying in House's arms, in the warm water, feeling his gentle touches and his breath on her neck, she was transported to another plane of existence. Not asleep, but not completely awake either. She felt as if this was all there was in the world, at least in her world.

House felt Allison's body relax beneath his touch. As his long, pianist fingers traced lazy circles on her breasts, she moaned quietly.

"That feels good, doesn't it?" he breathed into her ear. Taking the lobe into his mouth, he began to nip and suck at it as his fingers continued to tease her.

"Uh, huh." she answered breathily.

Trailing downwards, he felt her quiver as his fingers glanced across her soft belly. She gasped loudly as he pulled her leg up and over his own before continuing his exploration of her.

"Ohhhhhh" she groaned as his fingers reached their destination.

"That's good….relax Cam, let go….let me take you there Allison." he whispered to her before his lips returned to her neck. Her head dropped to the side and her breath seemed to catch in her throat as his lips and fingers slowly took command of her body. He had her now and he was taking her places she had never been.

Feeling her breathing increase rapidly, he knew that she was drawing close. "Oh, God…Greg…" she exclaimed when he curled his fingers upwards. He increased the pressure of his thumb until he felt her tighten around him. "Don't stop, Greg. Please, don't stop…ohhhhhhhh…" she gasped, reaching her climax.

"I won't Allison…I won't." he said wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

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They continued to lay there, drowsing in the warm water, surrounded by the candlelight and the heady tunes of Baker's jazz piano until the pain in Greg's leg told him it was time to get out.

"Hey…" he said quietly, placing a soft kiss on Allison's shoulder.

"Hmmm…hey yourself." she answered sleepily.

"What do you say we get out and get something to eat?" he asked.

"Ok…" she yawned. "That sounds good to me. It's been a long time since lunch." She stretched languidly and stood up, stepping out of the tub. She grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself, then turned to offer her hand to Greg.

"Thanks, but it's easier if I do this myself." he said, using the sides of the heavy tub to lift himself up, putting the bulk of his weight on his left leg. "See?"

"Oh yes….I see alright." she smiled, taking in the view before her.

"Take a picture – it'll last longer." he taunted.

"Don't tempt me….I just might." she grinned.

Greg thought about the picture he had taken earlier of her, but thought it best to keep that fact to himself. "Just give me a towel, will ya?"

"But I like looking at you. You're a very handsome man with a great body." She backed away from him before adding, with a rise of her eyebrows, "for your age…"

"Oh – that's nice. Pick on me when I'm all naked, and vulnerable" he pouted at her with big, sad eyes. He sat on the edge of the tub and swung his legs out to stand up.

She pulled the last towel down and held it behind him, around his waist, pulling him close to her. "I like you naked and vulnerable." She reached up and placed her lips on his in a gentle kiss. "Besides, when else could I do this?" Before he could think to protest, she brought her hand down on his bare bottom and pinched.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Just felt like a piece of ass, that's all…" she grinned.

"Oh really? Well, I'll give you that and a whole lot more….after we eat. I'm starving." With that, he secured his towel, grabbed his cane and walked out of the bathroom.


End file.
